Saturday Night Live, New York’s most famed sketch comedy show, almost hosted former rapper and current Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, but the idea never made it past the pitch stage. While the show is no stranger to political content or having politicians appear from time to time, Mamdani did not make it for a very particular and straightforward reason. SNL boss Lorne Michaels made the call to pass on Mamdani, and new reports revealed why.

Mamdani has come to be a viral sensation online, however, his comedic skills never got to shine on SNL.

According to recent reports from Page Six, during his mayoral campaign, Zohran Mamdani's team had floated the idea of him appearing on SNL, but the show ultimately decided not to move forward with the cameo. Lorne Michaels decided against it because the show wanted to go with professional comedians rather than actual politicians who would perform in their sketches.

Comedian Ramy Youssef eventually ended up portraying Mamdani in a 2025 SNL sketch about the New York City mayoral debate, alongside other comedians playing political figures. Miles Teller played the former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and comedian Shane Gillis starred as Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the sketch, which aired on November 1, 2025.

“Mamdani was pitched, but ultimately for creative reasons, they went with comedians instead,” reported Page Six.

The mayor later took to social media to react to the sketch with humor about getting roasted on the show. Though Mamdani's cameo never materialized, the outlet added that Michaels had been open to meeting up with the mayor off-air. 

Meanwhile, the outlet also confirmed that the show was also considering appearances of Sliwa, Cuomo, and not just Mamdani, but not all of them necessarily together. However, political appearances on the show may not come as easily as before, despite SNL being heavily politically inclined.

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SNL has a rich history of featuring political figures, making the alleged rejected Mamdani appearance questionable. 

While Saturday Night Live had never held back in roasting political figures, the FCC Equal Time Rule, which became effective in January 2026, created new restrictions on which politicians can appear on the program. The rule requires broadcasters to provide equal exposure to candidates running for the same office, which could make it more complicated for political figures to appear on entertainment shows like Saturday Night Live without offering equal opportunities to their opponents.

Previously, Donald Trump hosted SNL twice, during 2004's The Apprentice and in 2015 during his first presidential campaign. Meanwhile, other political figures hosting the show include former mayor Ed Koch in 1983 and 1984, Rudy Giuliani in 1997, Kamala Harris cameoed alongside Maya Rudolph, Hillary Clinton appeared with Kate McKinnon, and more. Mamdani's SNL episode could have been a double kill, given the plausibility of the former rapper (Mr. Cardamom) appearing as a musical guest as well as host, making pop culture history, but now it is perhaps a missed opportunity.

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Would you have enjoyed an SNL epidose with Zohran Mamdani? Let us know in the comments.